Selective Amnesia, Anyone?
by gnbrules
Summary: Juliet wanted to forget this ever happened. She blamed it on the hotel. And the dark. Lassiter, meanwhile, was caught in between horror and complete amusement. Funny little Lassie/Jules friendship fic, although it could be more if you read into it.


**Selective Amnesia, Anyone?**

**Summary: Juliet wanted to forget this ever happened. She blamed it on the hotel. And the dark. Lassiter, meanwhile, was caught in between horror and complete amusement. Funny little Lassiter/Juliet friendship fic, although it could be more if you read into it.**

**A/N: So, here's the thing. I'm starting school soon, so I'm going to have substantially less time to write and update stories. Because of this, I'm trying to just post some of the older stories I've been holding onto for just about forever – this being one of them. If I didn't post it now, I never would. And I like it too much for that. :P Now, as for the actual story notes, Lassie may seem slightly out of character at some points, but not much at all. At least I hope not much. :|**

"You've got to be kidding me." Lassiter scowled at the hotel clerk, who met his gaze without a hint of fear.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I clearly have you down for only one room." she said, trying to be as polite as possible, but it was clear she was getting a bit fed up with the Head Detective's attitude.

Lassiter, for his part, was none too pleased with the situation. First of all, he hadn't wanted to come on this trip at all. It was the Chief's fault that he and his partner had been forced to attend the criminal justice technology seminar that was scheduled for the next morning. And now, this. He had booked two rooms. He'd be damned if he didn't get his two rooms.

"When a customer calls and asks for two rooms, how hard is it to put two rooms down?"

Juliet, who had been eying the clerk's glare with apprehension, promptly but discreetly stamped on Carlton's foot. "What he means is," she interrupted politely, "would it be possible for us to book a second room now?"

The clerk blinked as if this was the stupidest question in the world. "It's the high school graduation tomorrow."

"So?"

"In a town like this, graduation is the biggest event of the year. Usually we have plenty of rooms to spare, but tonight, no. There's not a single room left. All other hotels around here will be booked too, by my guess. _Everybody_ shows up for graduation."

Lassiter's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "What kinda hi-"

Juliet silenced him by stomping on his foot again. Then she turned to the clerk and smiled. "We'll take the room."

After grabbing the key cards, Juliet and Lassiter made their way to their room, Juliet fuming the whole way.

"Did you have to make such a fuss about it, Carlton?" she asked angrily. "I'm surprised she didn't just tell us to find a new hotel the way you were carrying on."

"I asked for two rooms!" he shot back. "We should get what we asked for!"

"Is it really that big a deal? Am I really that bad that you can't spend one night in the same room as me?"

As Juliet placed the key card into the slot on the door, Lassiter became suddenly flustered. "I didn't mean...you know, I just thought we should get... it's nothing to do with you."

Juliet sighed. "It's fine, Carlton." she replied, not feeling in the mood to keep up the bickering. She even managed to smile at him in hopes of making amends. "I call first dibs on the shower in the morning, though." she said as the two of them stepped into the room.

Lassiter grunted his assent as he placed his night bag on the bed nearest the bathroom. "Fine." he said, tone not at all pleasant.

With a huge effort, Juliet managed to hold back any bitter replies. "I'll keep it quick."

After they had both changed into some night clothes, they were in no mood to talk or watch television. Truth be told, they were beyond exhausted from the long drive. They simply turned off the lights and got into their respective beds.

"Goodnight, Carlton." yawned Juliet.

"Night, O'Hara." he grunted back.

* * *

The next morning, Juliet woke up feeling extremely warm and content. A strong arm was wrapped around her and she could feel Carlton breathing behind her...

_Carlton!_

Juliet was suddenly electrified with shock and realization.

_Oh, God, _she thought in horror. She hoped she was somehow mistaken, somehow dreaming, or delusional. For a long moment, she had no idea how she had ended up in his bed, and her imagination played with truly terrifying possibilities.

Had she had something to drink? Had they...?

_God._

Then the memory hit her and a small wave of relief washed through her. She must have been too tired the night previous to realize that she had gotten into the wrong bed on her way back from the bathroom.

And of course, he had been asleep when his arm had found its way over her...

She didn't want him to wake up like this. In fact, in ideal circumstances, he would never know about this at all.

She wondered if it would be possible to remove his arm from her body without waking him.

_He probably trained himself to be a light sleeper, _thought Juliet with annoyance.

But she couldn't stay like this. No way.

She sighed and carefully moved his arm away from her. He grunted and she turned in time to see his eyes snap open with sudden alertness.

There was a brief moment before he realized he was actually, truly, awake.

And then his expression changed from one of grumpy sleepiness to horror. "O'Hara?" he asked incredulously, taking in the sight of her lying next to him.

Juliet slipped quickly out of Lassiter's bed, her face burning red with embarrassment. "Sorry, Carlton." she stammered. He sat up, and it was clear that his mind was rushing through a thousand ways to explain this.

"Why were you...what did we...what the hell?"

"It was...I didn't mean to..."

"O'Hara, did you drug me?" demanded Lassiter, horrified and disbelieving.

If she hadn't been so flustered, Juliet might have laughed at the absurdity of the accusation. "What? No! Are you insane? Why would you even say that?"

"Hmmm, well, I don't know! You were in my bed, and it doesn't really help that I'm only in my boxers!"

Juliet reddened considerably. "Yeah, and what is that about? When we said goodnight, you were fully clothed!"

Lassiter rolled his eyes. "I always sleep this way! I just waited til I was in bed to change, so that you wouldn't feel uncomfortable! And it's not like I expected you to get into my bed, which you still haven't explained, O'Hara!"

"Carlton, it's nothing. I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and I was obviously a little too exhausted to realize that I was getting into the wrong bed."

Lassiter exhaled as he took in the explanation. He closed his eyes and ran fingers distractedly through his hair. "God, this is..."

"Awkward? Yeah, I know. Sorry. But for goodness' sake, will you please put on some clothes now?" she asked, eying his bare chest with pointed discomfort.

Lassiter grimaced. "How about you go take your shower...and when you're done, I'll take my shower, and we can get this day over with."

Juliet reached down to get her night bag off the floor. "Fine by me." she said, and still blushing, she made her way into the bathroom.

When she was done with her shower, she had had enough time to calm down and be less embarrassed by her night-time mishap. She stepped out of the bathroom, her hair still wet but combed, and was pleased to see that Lassiter had put his shirt and pants from last night back on. It was obviously for her benefit only, since he was just going to take a shower and put new clothes on anyway, and she was grateful for it.

She really didn't need a reason to remember being wrapped up in blankets with an almost-naked Lassiter.

Ew.

She pushed the thought forcefully from her mind, and smiled at her partner. "I tried not to take too long for you."

"Thanks." he said gruffly. He passed her and went into the bathroom. He closed the door with a solid click.

While he showered, Juliet repacked her dirty clothes into her bag. The seminar started in little over an hour, which gave them enough time for a good breakfast. She hoped they wouldn't be awkward around each other – it wasn't really that big a deal...only a little slip-up. She was sure they could get passed it by simply never mentioning it again.

When Lassiter emerged from the bathroom, however, Juliet could immediately see that something was different about him. He seemed...happy, sort of...or something.

And then he looked at her and grinned suddenly.

Something was very, very off.

He crossed his arms smugly. "You know, I've been thinking about it, O'Hara. And if you really wanted to get into my bed, you could have just asked."

Juliet groaned. He wasn't happy – he was cocky. She had seen it before, whenever he would arrest high-profile criminals, or whenever he would out-shoot her at the gun range. She just never expected him to be cocky about _this_.

"Carlton...can we not mention it, please?"

"I'm just saying, O'Hara. It's only polite to ask."

Juliet rolled her eyes. "You know, I would expect this from Shawn, but not from you."

The comparison to Shawn Spencer would have usually made him scowl and act more professional, but he didn't seem to want to stop. He had, apparently, gotten over his embarrassment and shock and was now taking great pleasure in making her pay for her mistake.

He grinned as he grabbed his keys and wallet off of the night stand, then joined Juliet by the door. "Well, if you ever feel the need to get into bed with me again, don't hesitate to ask. I _probably_ won't turn you down."

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not Shawn in disguise?"

Lassiter shrugged. "Okay, okay. No need to hit below the belt. It is a little funny, though. I never expected to wake up next to _you._.."

"Yeah, it was a pretty big shock for me too." she smiled weakly. "Just to be clear, no one else has to know about this. It can be between us, right?"

Lassiter turned the handle on the door, and the two stepped out of the hotel room together. Lassiter smirked. "Now that I think of it, I bet Spencer would be pretty jealous if I mention-"

"Carlton!"

He smirked again, but relented. "Okay, just between us, then."

"Good. Now, let's get some breakfast. IHOP sound good to you?"

"You buying?"

"Well, yeah, but I was going to list it under our expenses for compensation by the Department."

"I like the way you think, O'Hara."

Juliet grinned. "Then IHOP it is."

**A/N: I always loved the idea of putting a platonic pairing in bed together. Haha. And Carlton and Juliet were just too perfect for it. Reviews are wonderful.**


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